“CMA Fest,” the Music Event of Summer, premieres Wednesday, Aug. 8 at 8/7c on the ABC Television Network. The three-hour primetime special broadcasts for its 15th straight year, with Thomas Rhett and Kelsea Ballerini returning as hosts, bringing Country Music’s Ultimate Fan Experience to a national television audience.
Music filled the air, the streets were crowded with music fans dressed in Daisy Dukes and cowboy boots, there were stages spread across town, and the City was buzzing with vendors and booths packed with food and fun activities. Country music lovers poured into Nashville for the CMA Fest 2018 to catch a glimpse of their favorite country artist signing autographs or performing at Xfinity Fan Fair X; or catch them close-up on one of the multiple stages set up throughout town where free performances were held non-stop daily from some of today’s top country artists. Nightly performances were held at the Ascend Amphitheatre and Nissan Stadium for ticketed attendees.
Filmed during Nashville’s 47th annual CMA Fest in June, the television special showcases 29 of music’s hottest acts as they hit the stage during the four-day festival. Don’t miss performances by Jason Aldean, Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Brothers Osborne, Kane Brown, Luke Bryan, Luke Combs, Dan + Shay, Brett Eldredge, Florida Georgia Line, Sam Hunt, Dustin Lynch, Midland, Old Dominion, Jake Owen, Jon Pardi, Carly Pearce, Thomas Rhett, Darius Rucker, Blake Shelton, Chris Stapleton, Cole Swindell, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, and Brett Young. Special guest collaborations include Lauren Alaina joining Brown, Julia Michaels joining Urban, Morgan Wallen joining Florida Georgia Line, and Dwight Yoakam joining Bentley. Brown, Combs, Midland, Michaels, Pardi, Pearce and Wallen make their debut performances on the “CMA Fest” television special. 2018 marks the 15th consecutive year of the broadcast, a feat no other U.S. music festival has achieved.
Guitar Girl Magazine attended this year’s CMA Fest from June 7-10; and while we were there, we had the opportunity to meet and interview CAM, Southern Halo, Kalie Shorr, Sweet Tea Trio, Brennley Brown, Irlene Mandrell, Sarah Lawton, Stephanie Quayle, Lockwood Barr, Emi Sunshine, Dallas Remington, and Jada Vance. Please be sure and click on their name to read their interviews.
Carrie Underwood on CMA Fest
“CMA Music Festival is so much fun, and every year they do a TV special, which is really cool. We kind of get to give the rest of the world that didn’t get to come to the Music Fest a little taste of what it’s like and hopefully they’ll see it and want to come next year. But CMA Music Fest is so much fun. No other genre of music does what country music does for their fans like this, which is so cool. There are literally like hundreds of thousands of people that like descend on Nashville, and there’s not a hotel to be found. Everywhere you go there’s people looking for music and looking to see artists and fan club parties and charity events and the CMT Music Awards are that week. It’s a lot of fun, and it’s kind of a way to get to interact and give back and meet the people that have been coming to see you on tour and get to say thank you. It’s just a blast. I came as a kid growing up a couple of times, and it’s cool to be on that side of things and now to be on this side of things, but I think everybody just has a lot of fun when they’re here.”
WATCH CLIPS OF OUR FAVORITE FEMALE ARTISTS PERFORMING AT CMA Fest